Aisling Organic Cosmetics

As an eCommerce, online-only brand, Aisling Organic Cosmetics was positioned to stay alive and was as close to thriving as possible during the COVID-19 outbreak. But this didn’t mean the business was left uninjured by the pandemic. “Our sales took a big hit the week the mandated stay-at-home status was announced. But after the initial shock, we are seeing sales climb as people become more comfortable and are shopping on their devices,” CEO Krysta Lewis told me. Krysta acted quickly, and implemented several things to aid in increasing sales and exposure. (Krysta was also awarded the 2018 Rising Stars Awards Young Entrepreneur of the Year). She highlights them below:

Talk Clean To Me Magazine

The launch of our new media branch and digital publication couldn’t have come at a better time as everyone is home and looking for something to read! We not only had a successful launch but lining up new interviews has been easier than anticipated. Some of our upcoming interviews are with people who have been on Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, The Today Show etc. and should certainly help provide exposure once the articles are shared.

Sale

We had one of our best sales to date a couple weeks ago and have found it’s a great way to boost revenues during this period of time. We believe people are expecting sales at this point and just held a 30% off sale.

Afterpay

We implemented a new payment gateway which allows consumers to pay in “4 easy installments” as they like to say. We get paid immediately, and Afterpay takes the risk with the payments. The processing fees are similar to our other payment options.

Giftcards

We will soon be offering gift card bonuses to incentivize people to purchase now and use once things normalize.

Snapchat Ads

We just launched ads on Snapchat as we have seen data that supports usage on that app is at an all-time high and advertising isn’t as competitive as other channels. Our content for these ads have been focused on “staying at home” and “getting ready quickly for your video meeting” which we believe will resonate with our target consumer.

We recently launched The Daily Laugh, a text line dedicated to uplifting people’s spirits with a daily joke! Sometimes as a business, especially during hard times, you need to focus on what your customers need and that doesn’t always mean selling something.

Mad*Pow

Mad*Pow is a strategic design consultancy, and like every business and organization, has had to respond and adapt to market changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Below, Founder and Chief Experience Officer Amy Heymans shared some thoughts with Opportunity Knocks about how Mad*Pow has evolved during this time.

Our first big challenge came with adapting our Health Experience Design (HXD) conference, an annual two-day event that brings people from the world of health, design, technology and health care together to collaborate on improving the health system. We considered postponing or cancelling the conference, but heard from past attendees that they were still eager to connect. So, the Mad*Pow team quickly moved to create a virtual conference, setting up the technical infrastructure to present dozens of keynotes, presentations, and panels online. I’m incredibly proud of the virtual event, and the positive response we received. With only a very short lead time, we were able to create a virtual event that was as informative and engaging as past in-person events. Our audience was clearly hungry for the inspiration and collaboration that HXD brings each year, because our virtual conference drew more participants than ever before. In the past, HXD has drawn 400 attendees, but this year’s virtual conference drew 575 unique visitors. It was really inspiring to see so many people still motivated to improve health and the health system through the sharing of ideas and collaborating across the ecosystem.

Mad*Pow has also pursued opportunities to volunteer in support of projects that help combat the current crisis. Michael Dempsey, Entrepreneur in Residence at the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) at Massachusetts General Hospital and a keynote speaker at this year’s HXD, invited Mad*Pow to join CIMIT to help design and launch the Collaborating to Address Shortages of Medical Supplies (CASMS) website, which will enable individuals and organizations to submit PPE designs, volunteer to test and validate designs, or access validated designs for production, all in an effort to solve the worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). We are proud to be involved with this vital initiative and hope to support future CIMIT projects as well.

In our day-to-day business, we’re focused on helping our clients get through the crisis. Many of our clients have to put project roadmaps on hold to focus on shorter-term crises-oriented projects. Mad*Pow’s design team has done a great job of helping our clients adjust to the changing economic landscape, re-assess priorities, and shift plans to meet current urgent needs – supporting them where it matters most.

Finally, Mad*Pow has worked hard to transition all our employees to remote work, making sure they all have the technology and tools needed to work from home. We’ve provided materials like microphones and cameras, and in some cases even helped team members get Wi-Fi set up at home. We’ve also continued to focus on making Mad*Pow a great place to work, holding virtual cocktail hours and setting up a virtual lunch room so our team can continue to connect with each other, even as they are isolated at home.

About Ryan Bilodeau

Ryan Bilodeau is a native Rhode Islander who moved to the Granite State in 2016 in order to teach Theology at Bishop Brady High School in Concord. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in political science and philosophy, and more recently earned a Master's degree in Theology from St. John's Seminary in Boston. Ryan has spent his life working for causes bigger than himself: on political campaigns, for the Catholic Church and as a founder of the Gift Card Project, a national project aimed at helping the homeless. He's a big fan of all things New Hampshire, sports, poetry, politics & hip-hop. You can follow him on Twitter @ryankbilodeau